164 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



which white bread is made. Every one who has been concerned with the feeding 

 of animals linows well the laxative effect of bran on the dairy cow and on the 

 horse. There seems no reason to dispute the inference that its effect on man 

 will be, in a measure the same. The human system has a very delicate digestive 

 mechanism which it is to our highest welfare to keep in proper condition. Crowd- 

 ing into the stomach, foods, which contain no fiber or ballast even though highly 

 digestible* and economical, is an evil the magnitude of which has not been suffi- 

 ciently realized. No particular nutritive value is claimed for fiber or cellulose 

 in the human dietary,! but it favors the onward movement or the products in the 

 alimentary canal and in this way tends to keep the system in a healthy tone. 

 It has been shown that in some animals living on vegetable foods, life for a great 

 length of time was impossible without considerable fiber in the food,$ and it 

 certainly seems rational to assume that man will be benefited if a certain amount 

 of fiber exists in his food. 



As mentioned in Part Two, undoubtedly the original purpose of the modern 

 breakfast foods was to correct the evils due to faulty nutrition and hence they 

 were intended primarily for invalids. The first requisite of such a food was that 

 it should be well cooked. After this it was subjected to the action of a ferment 

 by means of which the starch was converted into sugar and dextrin. In this 

 way it was said to be predigested. The normal process of digestion should begin 

 with the food in the boiler on the stove where it is cooked for a long time until 

 the starch granules have burst the cellulose wall enclosing them and are in a 

 condition fit for solution in the body fluids. The first real act of digestion begins 

 in the mouth where the cooked food is mixed with the saliva and because of the 

 diastasic ferment there present a slight amount of the starch is changed to maltose 

 (sugar) and dextrin. This process goes on for a time after reaching the stomach 

 until the acidity of the gastric juice stops it. The next scene of action is in the 

 small intestine where the remaining starch is converted into sugar and in this 

 condition is absorbed by the blood. Food containing raw starch, when taken into 

 the system, is not easily acted upon because it is thought the cellulose wall pro- 

 tects the starch. Such foods besides being of small value, because of the fact 

 that their starch is not readily available are frequently a positive harm for the 

 reason before mentioned that delayed in their passage down the food canal, fer- 

 mentations may set up which seem not in harmony with the natural digestive 

 processes and indigestion with all its accompanying ills may be a result. No 

 one will think of eating uncooked oatmeal and wheat. On the other hand break- 

 fast foods of the so called predigested type are supposed to be thoroughly cooked 

 and predigested in that the starch has been changed into malt sugar whereas the 

 facts really are that they have been predigested in the majority of cases to but 

 a slight degree§ and, if taken into the system without further cooking, constitute 

 a constant source of danger from indigestion. An inspection of the analyses in 

 the tables following will show to what extent predigestion has been carried on. 

 It will be seen that in the major number of cases it has not been carried very far. 

 It is hard to see how it can be true, as claimed that these foods are more nutritious 

 than wheat bread, yet they are as a rule more expensive. || That they have a field 

 when properly prepared is not disputed but their original scientific foundation 

 does not hold with the large number of breakfast foods now on the market and 

 their extravagant claims** have thrown them, it would seem in some instances, 

 wide from the truth. The public will do well not to rely for guidance on the 

 claims of the manufacturer as printed on the package, many of which claims are 

 without any reasonable foundation. 



*See note, page 10 — Snyder. 



tSee Halliburton Text-book on Physiological and Pathological Chemistry Cellulose. 



tBunge, Chap. V., pp. 71-72. 



§See Table III. Insol. Starch. 



IJTable I. Comparative amounts obtained for 10 cents. 



**See page 15. 



